Philadelphia Mortgage & Trust Co. v. Miller

Citations

• 20 Wash. 607
• 44 L.R.A. 559
• 56 P. 382
• 1899 Wash. LEXIS 212

Syllabus

<p>FIXTURES-—MANTELS, BATH TUBS AND WATER HEATERS—RIGHT OF REMOVAL AS AGAINST MORTGAGEE—REPLEVIN—EVIDENCE.</p> <p>In an action by a mortgagee to replevin certain articles claimed as fixtures, which had been removed from the premises by the mortgagors, a declaration of homestead made by the mortgagors is inadmissible in evidence for the purpose of establishing their intention of attaching the articles to the premises as permanent fixtures.</p> <p>In a controversy between a mortgagor and a mortgagee as to whether certain mantels and a porcelain bathtub and hot water boiler placed in the dwelling on the mortgaged premises were fixtures or not, evidence as to whether the house was or was not a finished house without such articles, and that the value of the premises was impaired by their removal, was immaterial and irrelevant.</p> <p>The question of whether or not a particular piece of furniture is a fixture is a mixed one of law and fact, and, where the question has been determined by the jury under proper instructions, their verdict will not be disturbed, unless it is clear, as a matter of law, that the furniture or machinery was in fact a part of the realty.</p> <p>Stock mantels carried by dealers as merchandise and made adaptive to any kind of a house; hot water heaters and bathtubs, all of which can be readily attached to, or detached from, the house without injuring the realty, are not fixtures, as between a mortgagor and a mortgagee.</p>